Never Let Me Go
by Roxanne Beaumont
Summary: Ward left Fitzsimmons for dead at the bottom of the ocean. Time is running out. It's time for Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons to confess how they really feel about each other. Complete. "Never Let Me Go" by Florence and the Machine used as inspiration. *WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 121 RAGTAG, IMPLIED CHARACTER(S) DEATH*


_Looking up from underneath, fractured moonlight on the sea. Reflections still look the same to me as before I went under._

"I know you care about us, Ward!" Fitz yelled through the cargo box's glass. Simmons clutched his sleeved arm, nails digging into his forearm. Desperation and adrenaline coursed through him. He was begging for his life. Jemma's life. Fitz believed Ward still cared about them. About his team. He still believed that Ward would never hurt them.

Ward had their back to them, facing the control panel on the front. A command stated for the storage pod to be jettisoned. His palm rested just inches away from the screen.

"No, please, stop!" Fitz begged. Simmons echoed his plea. Ward hesitated. He seemed to whisper something, too faint for Fitz to hear. Ward's arm moved and his finger touched the screen, ejecting the cargo pod from the bay.

"No! Ward, no!" Fitzsimmons cried. Fitz felt tears brimming at the edges of his eyes. Ward left them for dead. The pod moved backwards, closer to the open hatch. They gazed at Ward's stony expression. Unfeeling, not caring at all that they were about to fall into the ocean below. They pounded on the doors.

"Ward!" Simmons screamed. Tears poured down her face. She glanced at Fitz for comfort. They clasped hands as the pod fell out of the Bus. As they dropped, they glanced at the Bus, at the last shred of sunlight they would ever see. Suddenly, gravity slammed them on to the back of the pod. Fitz gasped as the wind was knocked out of his lungs. Simmons tightened her grip on his hand.

The pod hit the water with a deafening roar. Fitzsimmons screamed as the pod slammed into the waves. A huge splash of water quickly smothered the pod.

It began to sink.

_And it's peaceful in the deep, c__athedral where you cannot breathe. __No need to pray, no need to speak. __Now I am under._

Slowly, painfully, it descended into the waters. Fitz panicked. Even though the pod was built for rough voyages, it wasn't built for water pressure. They would die quickly once it imploded.

Die. Jemma would be gone, and so would he. The rest of the team- Coulson, May, Skye, even Triplett - would not know what happened to them. And that scared Fitz. Not as much as dying, however.

Simmons stared at the water outside. It reflected in shades of blue, and above them the surface rippled with sunlight. She started to sob. She and Fitz would never see the light of day again. They would never see their team. She would never tell Fitz how much she loved him. A pained moan escaped from her lips, something so unlike her. Her heart ached. She didn't want to die. Not like this. Not young. Not at the hands of a former friend.

Fitz pursed his lips as he tried to hold in tears. He turned and saw Simmmons sobbing into her palms. He folded her into his arms, her face pressed against his chest. Simmons heard his heart beat underneath his jacket. She felt safe in his embrace. She felt as if he was her anchor, tethering her to the fact that they were still alive. A breath shook free from her lips.

"I'm scared, Fitz," Simmons cried.

"I know," he replied. "But we still have time."

"Not for long though."

"Jemma, don't say that!" Fitz said through gritted teeth. Knowing that he only had a short amount of time to tell Simmons was excruciating. Tears started to trickle down his cheeks.

"But it's true."

"Think of... think of something else."

Simmons paused. What was she thinking of now? "How could Ward do this to us, Fitz? We were his team, his family, even."

"I think...I think you were right, Jemma. He doesn't care about us," Fitz said through his tears. They tasted of salt.

Simmons lifted her head from his chest. She looked into his blue eyes. "I have something to tell you."

Fitz gulped. What was she going to tell him? He decided it might as well be time to tell her something as well. "Me too."

"Ladies first, Fitz."

"Fine."

She took a deep breath. Now or never. "Okay. You see, we've been partners for a while. And it seems to me that we're more than just friends. We've been through so much together, you and I. I think...I think-"

"I'm in love with you, Jemma," said Fitz as he cut her off. Simmons' lips parted as Fitz inclined his head closer to hers. Their lips met, both of them hesitant. Simmons felt his lips curve around hers. Fitz entwined his fingers in her hair, and Simmons rested her palm on the nape of his neck. The kiss became urgent and passionate. Fitzsimmons enjoyed the taste of each other. Simmons' back pressed against the pod's wall, with Fitz nearly on top of her because of the tilting box. The kiss seemed to last forever.

Finally, they pulled away. Simmons smiled at him. "I love you, Leo Fitz," she said in a loving tone. Her palm rested on his cheek.

Fitz blushed. "I didn't know when to tell you."

"Me neither. Hardly a romantic setting," she chuckled, trying to make light of the situation.

Fitz laughed. He pursed his lips. "It's just... I was jealous of Triplett. He kept hanging around with you, and I-"

"You couldn't stand it. I get it. You hate change," Simmons said with a nod. "But really, we were just friends. You and I, we have more history than that."

"We do, don't we?" Fitz asked. He shifted, and his foot made a slapping sound. He looked down.

An inch of water covered the floor, leaking in from the pod's door. More water gradually made its way in.

"Oh my gosh," Simmons said, panicked.

"We don't have much time!" Fitz exclaimed. He needed to plug the flow of the water. He shrugged his jacket off and tried to approach the door. The pod wobbled with the change in weight, and Fitz slipped. Fitz struggled to get up from the floor. Now there was almost three inches of water inside, and his shoes and pants got soaked.

Simmons carefully stepped over to him, and helped him up. Both of them gripped each other's shoulders, and their eyes met.

_I guess we won't die old, _Fitz thought. Suddenly, he heard a cracking sound. A hairline fracture formed in one of the pod's windows. He knew that fracture would soon grow bigger.

"At least we'll die together," Fitz said, his voice cracking. That was one thing that reassured him.

"Fitz," Simmons breathed. Her lips quivered. It was over now. The crack would give in soon. She hugged tight, afraid to let go. "I love you."

Fitz returned the hug, and looked at the crack over her shoulder. A steady stream of water poured out, making the water inside rise even faster. "I love you, Jemma." He gave another kiss, even more passionate than their first. Their hands roamed over each other. As they pulled away, they remained in a tight embrace as the water rose up, and up. They murmured their love to each other. They sucked in their last breaths slowly, savoring them. The pod's wall's groaned. The water now leaked in from the ceiling.

Soon, the water rose up to their necks.

_Oh, and it's breaking over me, a__ thousand miles down to the sea bed, __I found the place to rest my head._

_-"Never Let Me Go" by Florence and the Machine_

* * *

**A/N: **Gah, I seriously can't deal with this week's episode, Ragtag. I don't know if Fitzsimmons will survive, but I'm sure they'll find a way. This story is really just a way to explore that possibility of them uh, dying. The song lyrics I used were from "Never Let Me Go" by Florence and the Machine. I put the credit in there too, as you can see. It's fitting song, I think, to listen to when reading this. I hope I kept everything in-character. Please review!-Roxanne


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